Man Dies While Charging Boat Battery On Eagle Lake

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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 46-year-old man from Big Lake died Sunday from an electrical shock suffered on the Fourth of July after trying to charge the battery in his boat while it was on the water, according to the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities responded to the scene at about 2:38 p.m. last Thursday at Eagle Lake on the 2300 block of 188th Street in Orrock Township after a report that two people were in the lake floating and unresponsive. When they arrived, they found the victims and started administering CPR to the male victim.

The man, identified as Daniel Petersen, died Sunday at Hennepin County Medical Center. The female victim, identified as his 49-year-old sister, was breathing on her own at the scene after neighbors provided medical assistance.

Witnesses told authorities that Petersen was trying to charge his boat battery while the boat was in the water. He was standing in about 20 inches of water when he lost his footing and fell in while he was still holding the battery charger, which at the time was plugged into an electrical socket. He was electrocuted, as was his sister when she ran to his aid. Neighbors at the scene pulled the electrical cord from the socket, then pulled the two from the water.